Hawaiian guitar

American  

noun

1. a six-to-eight-string electric guitar, fretted with a piece of metal or bone to produce a whining, glissando sound, played in a horizontal position usually resting on the performer's knees or on a stand, and much used by country music performers.

---

Hawaiian guitar British  

noun

1. a lap-held steel-strung guitar with a wood or metal body, tuned to an open chord and played with a slide Compare Dobro pedal steel guitar

---

Etymology

Origin of Hawaiian guitar

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Hawaiian guitar

An electric Hawaiian guitar that doubles as a crutch was designed in 1984 by Semie Moseley for country-music singer Barbara Mandrell in the wake of a car crash that left her severely injured.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The venue books acts like the Japanese pianist Keiko Matsui and the Hawaiian guitar virtuoso Willie K, and offers stage time to emerging local musicians.

From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2018

Their mother, a waitress, played the Hawaiian guitar, while their father worked at a Whitewater service station where the radio was tuned to country and western, pop and, on Saturday nights, the WGN “Barn Dance.”

From Washington Times ● May 19, 2018

His father, an accountant and businessman, played Hawaiian guitar and accordion.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2018

The cook flicked on the dial knob and the twangy strains of Hawaiian guitar music came throbbing out.

From Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung by Charles Brey

Related Words

• acoustic guitar